Elijah Wood: in his latest film, Everything is Illuminated--written and directed by actor Liev Schreiber from the book by Jonathan Safran Foer--Elijah Wood sports thick-rimmed glasses that magnify his already sizable peepers to anime dimensions. But it's the former hobbit's sizable talent we admire most of all.

Given that you hadn't read The Lord of the Rings until after you'd made it, I've got to ask: Have you read Everything Is Illuminated yet?

You know, I bought the book, started thumbing through, and realized very quickly that the structure of the book was quite different from what Liev had adapted [for the film]. I sort of set the book aside and didn't read it, primarily because I realized how different it was from what Liev had envisioned the film to be. I still as of yet have not read it, embarrassingly enough. [Pause] I think it's becoming a pattern!

So now that it's all over, you can tell us the real story behind [hobbits] Sam and Frodo's "relationship," right?

[Laughs] Um, it's a very loving relationship. Uh, you know, I think the beauty of any kind of novel [clears throat] is one's interpretation, and The Lord of the Rings is one of those great novels that people can take so many different things from.

The relationship between Sam and Frodo, I can completely understand how the gay community could see a deeper meaning in [it]. That's the beauty of that book, that you can take from it [what] you want it to mean.

Am I correct in observing that of all the heartthrobs in those movies, you were the only one to be shirtless?

Was I? Was Viggo [Mortensen] not shirtless at all?

I don't believe so, no.

That's a shame. Um, yeah, I guess I was! I never looked at it like that. Well, there you go. If only I had worked out a little bit more.

Finally, have you ever come across a parody Web site called Elijah Wood Is Very Very Gay?

Yeah. It's brilliant. I think I probably followed a link off of a Web site, just stumbled upon it accidentally. I laughed my ass off. You should look for The Hobbits Are Very Very Gay, because that includes everyone [from the Rings films]. There was also for a while a Web site that doctored photos of all of us in very, very intense sexual positions. I think they had Boromir and Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, Sam and Frodo, Merry and Pippin--very, very realistic, very well done. [Chuckles] Quite impressive.